Illinois residents battle rising waters

April 28, 2011

Residents in southern Illinois are getting some help battling severe flooding. Governor Pat Quinn has called in an additional 200 Illinois National Guard troops to help protect residents from rising waters in the southern part of the state. That's in addition to about 120 troops that were put in place earlier this week. The Guard is monitoring levees and helping evacuation efforts in Gallatin and Alexander counties. The state is also hauling in sandbags and other resources.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Lisa Madigan is intervening in a lawsuit brought on by the state of Missouri. Madigan says knocking down a Mississippi River levee could potentially protect the 3,000 residents of Cairo from disaster.

Missouri officials want to block the Army Corps of Engineers from breaching that wall. They say thousands of acres of farmland and homes would be ruined by flood waters, sand and debris.

The Army Corps could decide this weekend whether to break down the levee.